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THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



O N 



DELIVERED JULY 31, 1810 3 



BEFORE THE 



HAVERHILL ASSOCIATION ; 



AND 



PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST, 



By DANIEL DANA, A. M. 

PASTOR OF A PUKSBYTERI AN CHURCH IN NEWS URYPORT 



HAVERHILL, (mass.) 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY WILLIAM B, ALLEK. 
1810, 




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SERMON, 



ROMANS, ix, 5. 
— Christ .... who is over all, God blessed for ever. 

The fubjeft which this paffage brings to view, is all-in- 
terefting. In the great bufmefs of religion, we have much, 
very much to do with Jelus Chrift. We {hall all foon appear 
before him, as our final Judge. To have fome juft knowledge 
of him, then, muft be of infinite moment. If Chrift be a crea- 
ture, thofe who treat him as God, are chargeable with idolatry. 
This all allow. If he be God, are thofe who degrade him to the 
level of a mere creature, in no danger of impiety ? — Let us, my 
brethren, feel the folemnity of the fubjecl. Let us contemplate 
it with the profoundeft ferioufnefs and humility. And may the 
God of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father of glory, give us the fpirit 
of w'ifdom and tevelation, in the knowledge of himfelf, and of his 
dear Son ! 

Our text afferts the deity of Chrift, in terms as ftrong and 
unequivocal, as language could well afford. That the Savior is 
man, all admit. And this the Apoftle virtually declares in the 
context •, for he reprefents him as descended, according to the Jlefh 9 
from the Jewifh nation. But, adds the Apoftle, he has a na- 
ture infinitely fuperior to the human. He is " over ally Gotf 
bleffedjor ever" — I am fenfible, indeed, that certain critics have 
attempted to wreft from us this infpired atteftation of the Savior's 
divinity, by giving a different tramlation of the original text, 
But in doing this, they have violated the moft eftablifhed rules 



4 



of construction* ; and their labors have recoiled on themfelves. 
This paffage, however, is far, very far from ftanding alone. 
The doctrine it contains, is familiar to the word of God. Let 
us attentively confult this holy Oracle, and obediently receive its 
unerring dictates. 

What I propofe, is, 

I. Briefly to advert to fome of the principal and moft convinc- 
ing proofs of the deity of Chrift. 

II. To refute fome of the leading objections which have been 
raifed againft this doctrine. 

III. To fhow that, coniidered in its afpects and connexions, it 
is a doctrine of peculiar importance. 

Without hefitation it may be affiimed, that no doctrine of the 
word of God is fufceptible of fuller proof, than hat of the Sav- 
ior's deity. The evidence is even juper abundant. Each argu- 
ment which fupports it, taken feparately, is abfolutely conclufive. 
And each receives additional light and force from a great variety 
of others. It might be dittinctly fhown, that the moft facred 
and appropriate names of Jehovah are, in fcripture., frequently 
and familiarly applied to Jefus Chrift. It might be fhown, that 
the incommunicable perfeEtions&aA moft ftupendous wo ks of Dei- 
ty, are abundantly afcribed to htm. It might be fhown, that he is 
reprefented as the proper object of religious homage, and actually 
receives the wor£hip,both of men and angels. It might be fhown, 

* The method proposed, is, so to alter the pointing and translation of 
thepassag-e, as that it shall stand thus : Of whom, as concerning the 
3Flesh, Christ came, who is over all :— -God be blessed for 
E"fr. To this it is objected, and on high critical authority, that in every 
oi her instance in which the expression blessed be God, is found in 
the new Testament, the Greek article is used ; and the collocation is 
lik^ wise different from that in the present passage. Indeed, so palpably 
does the rendering suggested oppose the rules of legitimate criticism, 
ihat it is discarded by Socinus himself. See Dr. Macknjght's re- 
gnai&s on the text, 



that a great variety of parages in the old Teftament, which by 
univerfal acknowledgment, refer to Jehovah, are, in the new, 
unrefervedly applied to Jefus Chrift. — Thefe arguments are a- 
mong the raoft common, and the moft convincing. But I fliall 
wave a particular illustration of them, and confine myfelf to a tin- 
gle idea. It is this : that the moment the deity of Chrift is de- 
nied, the moft abfurd and flecking cenfequences directly and inevit- 
ably follow. Thefe confequences are various and almoft end- 
Iefs 5 though but a fmall portion of them can be diftinctly fpeci- 
fied. 

And firft. If Chrift be not God, it is impoffible for the moft 
accurate and difcerning reader to underftand the true meaning 
and fcopeof the bible. It will be readily admitted, that one of 
the firft requifites in a revelation from heaven, is, that it be per- 
fpicuous and intelligible ; efpecially on thofe great points which 
principally concern our faith, our worfhip, and our practice. If 
God be pleafed to communicate himfelf to man, on fubjecis of 
everlafting moment, he will ufe a language which will not per- 
mit the honeft and attentive inquirer to doubt of his real mean- 
ing. To fuppofe the contrary, would be to impeach at once the 
wifdom and benevolence of the Deity. In connexion with this 
remark, conftder, my brethren, that it is a capital and uniform 
feature of the bible,that it aflerts the character, and vindicates the 
claims, of the one living and true God ; while it proscribes 
with deteftation every form of idolatry, and every approach to it. 
Confider, likewife, that another feature equally prominent, is, 
that it aims to bring the highefl poffible honors to the Lord Jesus 
Christ to enthrone him in every heart *, to caule every knee 
to bow to his fceptre, and every tongue to celebrate his praife. 
What is the neceftary inference from thefe two important and 
undeniable facts ? — It can be no other than this : that Jefus 
Chrift is God. 



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If he be not God, how can he be vindicated (I fpeak it with 
trembling) from the charge of encouraging idolatry ; fince, on 
various occafions, he not only willingly received, but explicitly 
claimed the higheft honors which men could pay ? — He con- 
ftantly exhibited himfelf as the great object of faith ; a faith 
which it would have been impious to repofe in a creature. For 
thus faith the Lord, Curfed be the man who trujleth in man, and 
maketh fe/h his arm, and tuhofe heart departeth from the Lord.— - 
He demanded fup^eme love ; — and what more than this, was 
ever claimed by Jehovah himfelf ? He required his difciples to 
be willing to do, to venture, and to fuffer every thing, for his 
name's fake — the very demand which, both in fubftance and 
form, is frequently made in the Old Teftament, by that God 
who has declared, that he mill not give his glory to another. — He 
claimed a fovereignty over the fabbath. He claimed the church 
as his own. In a word, he reprefented himfelf as participating 
in the glory of his Father. The fon of man faid he, /hall come in 
the glory of his father* What creature ever dared prefer fuch. 
claims, or utter fuch language ? Who could pofiibly do it, with- 
out impiety and blafphemy, but the coequal, coeternal Son of 
God ? 

If Chrift be not God, the chriftian church is far lefs privileg- 
ed than the church in ancient time. Then, good men put their 
truft in God, chofe him as their felicity, confecrated themfelves 
to his honor, and folaced themfelves in his care, as their com- 
panionate Shepherd, their all-fufficient Friend. What a fad 
falling away mull it be, if this weighty charge, and thefe 
facred honors, are devolved on a creature ! How inferior the 
Chriftian, to the Jewifh Church ! But who knows not that the 
do&rine of the fcripture is the exacl reverfe of this ? Therefore 
Chrift muft be God. 

* See Dr. Jamieson's Vindication of the scripture doctrine, he 



If Chrift be not God, the generality of the Chriftian world have 
been in a grofs delufion to the prefent day. It is undeniable, 
that the great majority of Chriftian believers have viewed, hon- 
ored, and depended on him, in this character. Is it probable, 
that the beft men the world ever faw, mould be permitted to 
fall into the direft and mo ft deftructive of errors ? Was all their 
truft rcpofed in a God who could not fave ? Were all their con- 
izations in life and death •, were all their tranfporting hopes of 
complete blifs in their Savior's prefence, the offspring of mere 
enthufiafm and delufion ? 

If Chrift be not God, chriftians need conftantly be cautioned, 
not againft loving and trufting him too little, but againft loving 
and trufting him too much. To give him a fit pr erne affection, 
muft be downright idolatry. To confide in him with unlimited 
reliance, muft be folly and madnefs. It muft be lubverfive of 
piety, and ruinous to the foul. Grant that as a Friend and 
Benefactor, he claims their tender and grateful affection, {till, on 
the fuppofition made, this tribute muft be altogether different 
both in kind and degree, from that which they are bound to 
render to the Deity. It muft fall as much below it, as a creature 
falls below the infinite Creator. What ftrange and novel doc- 
trine would this be ! How repugnant to every principle of re- 
velation ! How grating, how infupportable to the feelings of 
every pious mind ! 

Finally ; let it be eonfidered, that the moment we deny the 
proper deity of Chrift, we make the fcriptures fpeak a language 
perfectly difcordant and felf-contradictory. We make thera 
fpeak of a created God ; of a dependent being, as the Creator y 
Upholder and Governor of the univerfe ; of an eternal being, who 
once did not exifl ; of a creature whom it is fin to worfhip, and 
perdition not to worfhip *, « of infinite perfection^ and yet all 
derived ; of an omnifcience which does not know all things, 
and an omnipotence which cannot do all things." My breth- 



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ren, it muft not, it cannot a moment be believed, that the book 
of God contains fuch grofs inconiiftencies and abfurdities as 
thefe. — The confequence is, that Jefus Chrift is truly and pro- 
perly divine ; God over all, blessed for ever. 

I am now, in the second place, to conlider and refute fome 
objections which have been raifed againft this doctrine. In 
doing this, I fhall endeavor to felect, not the weakeft, but the 
principal and moft plaulible ; and thofe on which, fo far as my 
information extends, their patrons have placed their chief reli- 
ance, for the fupport of their caufe. 

Suffer me, however, to premife one remark. If the doctrine 
under confideration be eftablilhed by competent evidence, no 
contrary reafonings can be of great weight. There are a mul- 
titude of truths which we firmly believe, againft which, how- 
ever, a fubtle difputant might eaftly produce objections which 
we could not fatisfactorily obviate. This remark, while it ap- 
plies to alnioft every fubject within the compafs of human 
thought, or obfervation, applies with peculiar force to the doc- 
trines of religion. It deferves, therefore, to be conitantly kept 
in mind, during the prefent difcuffion. 

Fir/J. Some think it a fufficient and conclufive objection to 
this doctrine, that it is myfterious. But it is remarkable, that the 
infpired Apoftle had a very different conception. Without con- 
troversy fays he, great is the myftery of godlinefs : God <was mani- 
fejl in the flejh. Here we fee, that in the moment in which he 
admits the deity of Chrift to be a myftery^ a great myftery, he 
neverthelefs afferts it as a fact, and ftates it as matter of faith. 
He did not think that becaufe it was myfterious, it was of courfe 
incredible. Nor can any one entertain this idea, who thinks fo- 
beriy. The faculties of our minds are extremely limited in their 
operations. Every day and hour, we are prefented with objects 
which we cannot pretend completely to explain, or comprehend. 
Above us, and around us, myfteries conitantly arreft our atten- 



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tiou, To us, the works of creation, and the ways of providence^ 
are equally and altogether unfearchable. Above all, "what a 
miracle to man, is man !" Who can explain the nature and op- 
erations of a foul ? Yet who fo degraded, fo ftupified, as to 
doubt whether he has a foul ? The connexion of our material 
and fpiritual part, is wonderful indeed. How mental ideas are 
obtained through the medium of the bodily organs ; how, by an 
act of my will, I raife my hand ; how, by addreffing words to 
your ears, I can excite thoughts and emotions in your minds, is 
perfectly incomprehenfible. Yet who doubts the reality of thefe 
things, or of thoufands betide, of a fimilar nature ? If all the 
works and ways of Deity, then, are myfterious j if facts which 
conftantly occur in the courfe of his providence are myfterious ; 
is it not perfectly credible that his nature is much more fo t 
Efpecially, when a revelation is given us purpofely to commu- 
nicate fuch truths as our minds could never explore, may it not 
be expected that many of thefe truths will likewife be fuch as 
our minds can never completely grafp? — The fact is, that neither 
the threefold diftinction in the divine nature, nor the union of 
deity and humanity in the perfon of Chrift, is more incompre- 
henfible than many things in natural religion, the truth of which 
all but atheifts acknowledge. They are not more incomprehen- 
fible than the exiftence of a Being underived, eternal, and every 
where prefent. 

A fecond objection againft the deity of Chrift, is this : that if 
it were a truth, it would have been more abundantly and ex- 
plicitly declared in the facred fcriptures. Efpecially, it might 
have been expected that Chrift himfelf, and his Apoftles, would 
have clearly taught it. But the reverfe of this, fays the objector^ 
is the cafe. In reply, it is granted, that it was the firft and prin- 
cipal object, both of our Savior, and his Apoftles, to eftablifh 
his divine million and Mefliahmip. And why ? The moment 
that this point was fettled, his deity followed of courfe. AH who 
believed him to be the true Meffiah, would believe him to ba 
B 



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juft fuch a perfon as the prophets foretold : and it is undeniable 
that they defcribed him as a divine perfon. They fpoke of him 
under the appellations of Jehovah, Jehovah our righteous- 
ness, Jehovah of hosts, Immanuel, the mighty God, the 
just God and Savior. Whatever, then, proved him to be the 
Meffiah, proved him to be truly and properly God. There was no 
occafion for our Savior,or his Apoftles, to go into a labored proof of 
his elTential dignity. They needed only to a/certain the perfon of 
whom the prophets wrote. Thofe who believed that Jefus of Naza- 
reth was that perfon,might directly and undeniably infer his divin- 
ity. Hence we find our Savior giving this direction to the 
Jews : Search the fcriptures $ for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life s and they are they ivhich tejlify of me. This obfervation is 
functioned by fome of the moft accurate divines. And it needs 
only to be kept in mind, in order completely to account for it, 
that the doctrine of our Savior's divinity is more fparingly taught 
by him and his Apoftles, than fome might have expected. But 
the fact is, that the objection is by no means true, in its full ex- 
tent. Our Savior and his Apofxles did not maintain that cauti- 
ous referve which has been ftated. We have already fr^n that 
our Lord himfelf did, even while on earth, demand the homage 
of an implicit faith, a fupreme affection, and an unlimited devo- 
tion. He alTerted his property in the church. He claimed a 
fovereignty over the fabbath. He claimed a participation in the 
honors, the prerogatives, and the throne of his Father. No 
creature could advance fuch pretenflons without arrogance and 
impiety. We might add, that at his birth, he was exprefsly 
ftyled Immanuel, or God with us. At his baptifm, a finking at- 
tention was given to his divinity. In the courfe of his miniftry, 
thofe names, perfections and prerogatives were attributed to him, 
which belong to none but Deity. In the epiftles, his divine 
dignity is flill more unequivocally and frequently declared. — 
In a word, I appeal to the reafon and confcience of every think- 
ing man, and afk j if when our Savior is ftyled God, God 



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MANIFEST IN FLESH, GoD OUR SAVIOR, THE TRUE GoD, THE 

mighty God, God blessed forever ; if when he is repre- 
fented as almighty, omniscient, omnipresent ; the Crea- 
tor, Preserver., and Judge of the world, — men yet demand 
farther evidence, they do not act an unreafonable part ? If af- 
ter all this, they remain unconvinced, muft it not be from feme 
other caufe than the want of evidence ? 

Thirdly. It is objected, that the fcripture, fpeaking of Jefus 
Chrift, in connexion with the Father, frequently applies to him 
fuch expreffions as fignify inferiority and dependence. It de- 
clares, that the head of Christ is God j that the Son does nothing of 
himfelf ; that he does the work which the Father gave him to do ; 
that he conducts according to a commandment received from the 
Father ; that he does not know the day and hour of the lajl judgment ; 
and in a word, that the Father is greater than he. This objec- 
tion, my brethren, deferves a ferious confideraticn 5 and I fiiall 
endeavor, not to evade, but fairly to meet and difcufs it. One 
thing which obvioinly occurs in reply, and which even thofe 
who urge it, muft grant to be true, is this : that if thefe expref- 
fions imply an inferiority in Chrift to the Father, expreffions of 
an oppoftte kind occur not lefs frequently He is exprefsly declar- 
ed to be God, to be equal with God, to be one with the Father, and 
to know all things. Hence, then, it is clear beyond difpute, that 
the fcripture, in different parts, makes feemingly contrary declar- 
ations refpecling Jefus Chrift ; declarations in fuch a degree 
incompatible with each other, that they cannot be true in the 
fame refpeel, and the fame fenfe. Yet thefe feemingly contradic- 
tory affertions muft be reconciled. And our adverfaries are 
as much bound to effect this reconciliation as we. Have they 
any fcheme to accomplifh it ? No : they do not fo much as 
pretend to this. Thofe expreffions which imply the Savior's 
inferiority to the Father, they conftrue in their literal and moft 
extenfive fenfe. But thofe which indicate his equality, they eith- 
er explain away, or expunge from the bible. Can this be a 



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fuitable method of treating that holy book which was dictated by 
the infallible Spirit, and whofe every word is eternal truth ? It 
furely cannot. Some fcheme muft then be adopted, which 
will reconcile thefe apparently jarring texts. This fcheme can 
be no other than that which confiders Chrift as combining two 
natures in his one person : and likewife as acting in a fubordinatt 
office as Mediator. In this way, feeming incongruities are re- 
conciled, and the fcripture appears worthy of its Author. Thus, 
and thus alone, each clafs of texts before mentioned, receives a 
natural unforced conftrudtion. On this hypothefis, Chrift is 
God; and he is man, and Mediator. As God, he is equal 
and one with the Father. As man, he is inferior to him. As 
God, he knows all things. As man, he muft be ignorant of 
many *, and even as Mediator, he may be faid not to know them 
in this fenfe ; that it is no part of his mediatorial office and 
commiffion to make them known. He is God; and there- 
fore acts in all things from the dictates of his own fovereign 
pleafure. He is man, and Mediator j and in thefe characters, 
receives and executes the commands of the Father. Let the 
advocates of any other fcheme make the fcripture fpeak a con- 
fident language, if they can. 

Fourthly. It has been objected, that the very names oi Fath- 
er and Son imply the inferiority of the latter. "We reply, 
that this is by no means clear ; nor is it even probable. The 
fenfe ufually attached to thefe expreffions among men, does 
not apply here $ except in this regard, that the Son of God is 
of the fame nature with the Father. But this, far from argu- 
ing inferiority, argues a real equality, It argues, not pojleriori- 
ty ofexi/Ience, but jelf-exiftence and eternity. And the argument 
is flrengthened, when we add, that the Jews underftood Chrift's 
calling God his Father as a making^ of himfeif equal with God. 
They coniidered the expreffion as blafphemous. They declared 
that though a man, he made himfelf God. And a c our Savior 
laid nothing by way of retraction r % as he did not deny 3 that i» 



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claiming to be the Son of God, he made himfelf God, we cannot 
rationally doubt that this is the real import and force of the 
expreffion. 

Other fcriptures, in the moment in which they reprefent 
Chrift as the Son of God, exhibit Striking and refiftlefs evidence 
of his equality with the Father. No one, faith Chrift, knoweth 
the Son, but the Father. In another paffage, As the Father know- 
eth me, even fo know I the Father. The former expreffion implies, 
that Chrift is incomprehensible by all creatures : the latter, that 
he knows the Father as perfectly as he is known by him. Both, 
therefore, Strongly atteft his divinity. Elfewhere he declares, 
that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to 
the Son. Why ? That all men Jhould honor the Son, even as they 
honor the Father. In the epiStle to the Hebrews, the Father is 
reprefented as addreffing the " Son" in this ftyle : Thy throne, O 
God, is forever and ever* Much critical ingenuity, and learned 
labor have been employed to torture the orignal of this text into 
a different meaning. But common fenfe revolts. And the paf- 
iage, in its natural and juft construction, affords decHIve evidence 
of the true and eternal divinity of the Son. 

Fifthly. An objection againft the deity of Chrift has been 
drawn from that paffage in the firft epiftle to the Corinthians* 
in which it is declared ; Then cometh the end, when he Jhall have de- 
livered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he ftjall have 

put down all rule, and all authority and power And when 

all things Jhall be fubdued unto him, then Jhall the Son alfo himfelf be 
fubjecl unto him which did put all things under him, that God may 
he all in all. But this paffage doubtlefs has reference to the 
mediatorial kingdom of Chrift, in distinction from the abfolute 
kingdom of God, as Creator. This mediatorial kingdom, when 
all its interesting and glorious purpofes fhall have been accom- 
plifhed, fhall have an end. Chrift will folemnly refign it into 
the hands of his Father 5 and as man and Mediator, will ex- 
plicitly fubjecl: himfelf to him. But with much force and juftice 



it has been remarked, that " Chrift's delivering up the kingdom 
to God the Father, no more proves that he will, in all refpecls, 
ceafe to be a king, or to have any farther dominion, than the 
Father's delivering the kingdom to the Son, proves that the 
Father himfelf then ceafed to be a king, and parted with his own 
dominion over all." Chrift's effential kingdom, which he pof- 
felTes as God, is interminable. Nor will he, in his human na- 
ture ceafe to wear the honors of his mediatorial offices and 
works, nor to appear as the glorious Head of that beloved 
Church which he has purchafed with his blood. But after his 
great commiilion {hall have been fulfilled and refigned, the God- 
head, including the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will be ex- 
hibited and glorified as all in all ; and without the intervention 
of a Mediator, will govern all creatures and worlds for ever- 
more. 

Sixthly. It has been objected to the deity of Chrift, that in 
one inftance, at lead, he refufed the afcription of divine perfec- 
tion to nimfelf, by replying to one who called him " Good Mas- 
ter," u Why calleft thou me good ? There is none good but 
one *, that is God." But a momentary attention to his paffage 
may convince us that a contrary conftruclion is far more natural. 
Our Savior doubtlefs confidered the perfon addreffing him as 
afcribing a divine perfection to one whom he viewed as a mere 
creature. By this gentle . rebuke, therefore, he feems to call 
upon him, either to retra£t his afcription, or be confiftent, and 
own him as God. The palTage, therefore, far from invalidating 
the Savior's divinity, affords a poiltive argument in its fupport. 

Seventhly. It may be thought by fome, that our Savior's re- 
ply to the mother of Zebedee's children, is incompatible with 
his divinity. To her requeft that they might be permitted to 
" lit, the one on his right hand, and the other on the left, in his 
" kingdom," he is reprefented as anfwering, " To fit on my 
" right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it Jhall 
u be given to them for whom it is prepared by my Father." — But 



15 



the tranfiation is, in this inftance, erroneous •, and communicates 
an idea of which there is no trace in the original. Let the 
words which our tranflators have fupplied, and which are printed 
in italics, be expunged ; and let the particle but be exchanged for 
except, (which is here the correct rendering) and we fhall have 
the true meaning of the pafTage : — Such honor is not mine to give$ 
except to thofe for uuhom it is prepared by rny Father. Thus it will 
be found, that our Savior does not difclaim the power of award- 
ing the diftinguifhed honors and felicities of his kingdom *, but 
limply declares the rule by which he will award them. Thefe 
diftinctions will be made in correfpondence with the eternal 
counfels and appointments of the Father — a declaration which 
no wife derogates from his divine dignity and glory.* 

* Learned Socinlans, particularly of late, have multiplied comments on 
the original of the new Testament ; and industriously circulated the idea, 
that a more correct translation than the common, would give material 
strength to their cause. But the friends of the Savior's deity have little 
ground of alarm. Nor need they regret the critical zeal of their oppo- 
nents. It has proved contagious. The spirit of investigation has ex- 
tended itself ; and truth can never suffer by investigation. Men of 
talents and learning have pushed their researches far [into the original 
languages of scripture, and into its distinguishing doctrines. The result 
is, that not only new proofs of the divinity of Christ have been discover- 
ed, but new sources of evidence have been laid open. As an instance, 
I feel impelled to mention some recent discoveries respecting the Greek 
article, made by Mr, Granville Sharp, a British writer. By a 
critical and laborious investigation of the uses of this article in the new 
Testament, he has found much new evidence of the divinity of Christ, 
in passages which are wrongly translated in the common version. One 
of his fundamental principles is this : that when two personal pro- 
nouns ARE CONNECTED BY THE COPULATIVE KAI, IF THE FORMER 
HAS THE DEFINITIVE ARTICLE, AND THE LATTER HAS NOT, THEY 

both relate to the same person. By the application of this simple 
principle, he has derived many clear and unanswerable testimonies to 
the divinity of Christ, from passages which, in the common translation, 
have rather a contrary appearance. I might instance in 2 Thess. 1, 12 ; 
which, according to the proposed and correct translation, stands thus : 



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I will name but one objection more. It is drawn from 
that reply of our Savior to the Jews who charged him with 
blafphemy in making himfelf God. « Is it not written," faith 
he, " in your law, I faid ye are gods ? If he called them gods, 
to whom the word of God came, and the fcripture cannot be 
broken ; fay ye of him whom the Father hath fanctified, and 
fent into the world, Thou blafphemeft, becaufe I faid, I am the 
Son of God ?" — Some would have it thought that our Savior, 
in this paflage, claims a fort of metaphorical divinity, fuch as be- 
longed to the Jewifh magiftrates ; and that he entirely difclaims 
every other. But fuch a conftruction is fuperficial and unmean- 
ing. The true conftruction is probably this. The Jewifli mag- 
iftrates were types of Chrift. Their authority in the church 
was a faint emblem of his. Hence they were denominated gods. 
« The fcripture cannot be broken therefore types muft have 
their antitypes. " How dare you then," the Savior feems to 
fay, " charge blafphemy on me, for aflerting my equality and 
onenefs with the Father ; flnce I am the true Meffiah, divinely 
fet apart, and fent into the world ; and thus the antitype of 
thofe types ; the fubftance of thofe fhadows ; and all that in 
reality, which they were but in nameznd. reprejentation"* — Here 
then, inftead of a renunciation of our Savior's claims to divinity, 

we have an explicit, a forcible and public avowal of them.— 

But I pafs to fhew, 

In the third place, that this doctrine of the deity of Chrift, 
coniidered in its afpects and conferences, is a doctrine of great 

*' According to the grace of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, , '~ 
And in Titus 2, 13 ; which should be read, " Looking for the blessed 
hope, and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus 
Christ." Mr. Sharp's general principles, and his mode of applying 
them, are sanctioned by the most eminent British critics and scholars ; 
and his publication is doubtless worthy the most attentive perusal of eve- 
ry biblical student. 

* See Dr. Guvse in loco. 



17 



importance. This is a moft interefting part of the fubject, and 
would afford ample fcope for a fermon. But I mufe reftrain 
myfelf ; and offer a few hints only, on which your meditations 
will eafily enlarge. 

The oppofers of the Savior's divinity, efpecially in modern 
times, are prone to reprefent the doctrine as merely fpeculative 5 
and, even in that view, of comparatively little importance. But 
we cannot, without being unfaithful to the caufe of truth, re- 
frain from remarking, that in whatever light it is considered, it 
appears a doctrine of primary importance and intereft. Nor 
would it be difficult to ihow, that it has an influence on every 

part of experimental and practical religion. We might 

remark, 

In the firffc place, that it affects the very foundations of chris- 
tian faith and hope. It cannot be a matter of fmali moment 
whether the object of our confidence, the foundation on which 
we build our eternal hopes, is a creature, or the infinite God. 
If the Savior be not divine, where is our atonement ? Where 
our juftifying righteoufnefs ? Where the grace we need to con- 
quer our corruptions, to fuflain us in death, and carry us trium- 
phantly through it ? What fatisfying evidence can we have, that 
he is an adequate, as well as a fuitable Savior ? What evidence, 
that he will not fail us in the laft extremity ? An Apoftle could 
fay j I know whom I have believed ; and lam perfuaded that he is 
ABLE to keep that which I have committed to him againjl that day. 
Every chriftian may fay the fame, if he has evidence that he in 
whofe hands he has depofited an immortal foul, is divine ; but 
not otherwife. The beft and greateft of creatures may d if ap- 
point his hope. The only wife God, and he alone, is able t keep 
him from falling, and to prefent him fault lefs before the prefence of his 
glory with exceeding joy** 

Farther; it is well known that love of God) and a grateful 
fenfe of h.s love in our redemption, are reprefented in fcripture 



* Jude 24, 25s 

c 



1H 



as the ruling paffions of the chriftian's bofom, and the great, 
prompting principles of his conduct. Were it poffible that a 
creature could redeem us, and had it pleafed God to provide fuch. 
a creature, the favor would be great indeed : but it is difficult to 
perceive how it could deferve thofe exalted encomiums, thofe 
enraptured celebrations , of which the fcripture is fo full. How 
could it be conceived fuch a fublime and ftupendous myftery, 
that the great Supreme, who by a word, could call into be- 
ing millions of the moft excellent creatures, mould give one of 
this defcription, to redeem and fave a world ? How could this 
love be properly ftyled love that pajfes knowledge? How could it 
be reprefented as having lengths, and breadths, and depths, and 
heights absolutely imineafurable ? And with what propriety 
could it be argued, that becaufe God has not withheld fuch a 
creature, therefore he will certainly give us all things ; all the 
bleffings of grace and glory, of earth and heaven ? But if we 
fuppofe that the Redeemer is the Son of God, infinitely Superi- 
or to all creatures, we are ufhered at once into a new world. 
We perceive the meaning and force of thofe Apoftolic expref- 
iions : In this was maniftjled the love of God towards us, becaufe 
that God fent his only begotten Son into the world) that we might live 
through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he lov- 
ed us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for curfns. At fuch a 
thought, what heart does not kindle into the livelieft ardors of 
love ? What bofom does not heave with inexpreffible emotions 
of gratitude to the condescending Redeemer, the divine 
Philanthropist ? Who is not ready to breathe out the poet's 
animated ftrains : 

Talk we of morals? O thou bleeding Love! 
Thou maker of new morals to mankind ! 
The grand morality is love to thee ! 

Again *, Chrift is continually exhibited as the great object of 

our obedience ? He died jor all, that they who live, fjjould not hence- 
forth live to themfelveS} but fo him who died for them, and r of again. 



\ 



19 



Now if he who thus claims our unlimited obedience and devo- 
tion, is God, all appears natural, and fit, and proper. If Jelus 
is divine, he is an adequate object of our obedience. And fure- 
ly, by ftooping from heaven to earth, to redeem and fave us, he 
has obtained the ftrongeft poffible claims upon our entire and 
everlafting devotion. But if he were a creature, would not the 
very demand of fuch homage be ereclin; the Jlandard of rebelion 
againft the Majesty of heaven and earth ? Could we com- 
ply with the demand, without being guilty of the grofieft idola- 
try ? — without impioufly robbing our Creator and our God of 
his inalienable right ? 

In a word •, the employment and biifs of heaven are frequent-. 
]y reprefented in fcripture as confifting in praifing, glorifying 
and enjoying Jesus Christ. '< Father, I will," (this is his own 
prayer) ' that they whom thou haft given me, be with me where 
<<I am, that they may behold my glory." Agreeably, the Apof- 
tle Paul exprefTes an ardent defire to depart, and to be with Chrifl, 
which he feels is far better than to be here. And faints who- 
have taken leave of mortality, are defcribed as beholding the face 
of the Lamb forever, and bearing JAs name in their foreheads . They 
are defcribed as finging the new fong : " Thou art worthy to 
take the book, and to open the feals thereof : for thou waft 
{lain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood." Upon this, 
millions of angels , as if unwilling to be outdone in giving glory 
to the Redeemer, fing, in folemn refponfe : si Worthy is the 
Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and wifdom, 
and ftrength, and honor, and glory, and blefiing." The redeem- 
ed then refume their enraptured celebrations. " Bleffing, and 
honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that fttteth on the 
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." '< What words,"' 
fays an excellent commentator, <« could more fully and emphati- 
cally declare, that Chrift is and ought to be worfhipped, equally 
with the Father, by all creatures, to all eternity ? Will any one, 
afcer reading this, aflert that he is a mere man, or a created be- 



20 



ing ; or that it is idolatry to worfhip him ?" What we would 
particularly remark, however, is this : that fuch an employment 
mult be perfectly congenial and delightful, it mull afford an 
everlafting gratification, to thofe who have learned to view 
Chrift. as God, to love him as God, to truft him as God, to adore 
him as God, and expect their everlafting felicity from him as 
God But is it not a ferious queftion, whether thofe who deny 
the Savior's divinity, are prepared for this felicity ? Could they 
re Villi it ? Were they even admitted within the walls of the new 
Jerusalem, muft they not be dumb, having never learned a note 
of the new and everlafting fong, fung by the redeemed of the 
Lord ? -But I forbear j and clofe the fubject by a few re- 
flections. 

Firjt. If Chrift is truly and properly God if this doctrine is as 
clear in its evidence, and as important in its connexions and con- 
fequences as we have feen, then it follows, that every oppofite 
doctrine is a great and dangerous error. Indeed, to rob the Re- 
deemer of divine honour and glory, is not merely a great error, 
but a great fin. If thofe who do this, fhould find themfelves at 
laft in a mijtake ; if, inftead of coming for their final deftiny to 
the bar of a creature, they Ihould come before the omnicient and 
almighty God, how great muft be their confternation ! It is 
not for mortals to anticipate the fentence of that tremendous 
day Still, for all of the character defcribed, we may well 
tremble 3 we may well drop a tear. We have much reafon 
to apprehend, that thsy have little acquaintance with them- 
felves , and but faint impreffions of the evil of fin, and of the 
purity and majefty of that God whom it offends. Should the 
divine glory flafh on their minds ; fhould they obtain that pain- 
ful, but neceffary knowledge, the knowledge of their own guilt 
and pollution, they will find, methinks, that they need an in- 
finite Savior \ and are undone without one. In the mean 
time, who can fufficiently regret, that a doctrine fo effential 
in the Chriftian fcheme, fo important to the life 'and power 



21 



of religion, fhould meet with fuch increasing neglect and op- 
pontion in our land. In this favored land, once fo remarkable 
for the purity of its faith and practice, it has become common, 
deplorably common, to doubt, to deny, to ridicule the divinity 
of the Lord who bought us. Unwearied efforts are made to pour 
contempt on thofe doctrines on which our Fathers built their 
hopes in life and in death ; and to give currency to a fuperficial, 
unmeaning, lifelefs religion, which has little of chriftianity be- 
fide the name. Thus is moral poifon diffufed through a thoufand 
channels. Thus are the beft and dearefr. interefts of immortal 
creatures fported with. Thus are opened the flukes of abfoiute 
Infidelity. — Take away the deity of Chrift 5 and you remove the 
main pillar which fupports the fabric of chriftianity. Soon his 
atonement is denied, his intercefllon difregarded, the evil of fin 
thought lightly of, and eternity forgotten Men live and die 
without God, and without hope ; heathens with chriftian names 5 
and principally differenced from heathens unchrifcianized, by a 
vaft acceflion of guilt.* My reverend Fathers and Brethren 1 

* Seriously entertaining these apprehensions respecting the tendency 
of antitrinitarian doctrines, and the aspects of the present time, I have 
thought it a sacred duty, however painful, to express them. Many, I doubt 
not, who, from one cause or another, may incline to think more favorably 
of the doctrines in question, are candid inquirers after truth. Some, it 
may be hoped, who have actually embraced them, have 'neither in specu- 
lation traced them into their pernicious consequences, nor in practice ex- 
hibited their corrupting effects. Should a single person of either descrip- 
tion, be induced by any thing suggested above, to pause and contemplate 
the subject in the light of truth and eternity, the writer will be amply 
rewarded ; nor will he much regret the charge of narrowness and bigotry 
which will doubtless by many be attached to this undisguised exposure 
of his views and feelings. 

A much more particular explanation might have been given, of the 
sentiments designed to be opposed; as likewise of their congeniality with 
the corruption of the human heart, and their consequent tendency to cher- 
ish, to confirm and increase that corruption. But this would have pro- 
tracted the sermon to an immoderate length. The following just and 



22 



if we have any regard for the honor of our Redeemer, or the 
fouls of men, we fhall not be filent, or inactive at fuch a time. 
We {hall boldly ftand up for the truth. We fhall watch and 
guard againft the thoufand namelefs arts and efforts of error and 
irreligion. We (hall efpecially oppofe ourfelves with vigor to 
thofe falfe doctrines which aim at the very vitals of chriftianity, 
and which thus threaten to fpread moral death and defolation 
all around. Let us be thankful that we have a divine Savior 
to preach — a Savior not only fuitable, but all-fuffjcient for the 
wants and woes of our dying fellow-creatures. And let it ani- 
mate us to think, that while we preach his unfearchabU riches^ 
he will afford us his all-gracious prefence to fupport, to cheer, 
to profper, and to blefs us. 

Secondly. The doctrine of the deity of Chrift ftrikingly dif- 
plays the guilt and danger of thofe who live in habitual neglect 
of him, and oppofition to his gofpel. It is an alarming thought, 
tha: as his dignity, excellence and glory are infinite and indes- 
cribable, their fin and perverfenefs in treating him thus, are 
proportionate. In rejecting Jefus Chrift, and his offered falva- 

strikihg- remarks on the subject, extracted from the Evangelical 
Magazine, are calculated to supply the deficiency ; and they are recom- 
mended to the serious attention of every reader. May they operate as an 
effectual caution against, the errors reprobated ! 

<s To consider the Redeemer as a mere fallible and peccable man - - - 

- - to reject salvation by grace, the atonement of the Savior, and 

the influences of the Spirit — to affirm the merit of supposed virtue, while 
at the same time its standard is reduced extremely tow — to represent sin 
as an evil infinitely less* both in its guilt, and its demerit, than serious 
Christians universally consider it — to represent the future consequences 
of sin as inexpressibly less tremendous than the scriptures at least seem 
to describe— cannot but be most agreeable and welcome to the haughty, 
the self-enamored, the worldly-minded, the lover of a little decent dis- 
sipation, the man who is striving to soothe a disturbed conscience, the 
unfledged youth who is exquisitely delighted with his fancied superiority 
to vulgar prejudices, and the semi-infidel, who is too well instructed, to 
be able to reject the argumentative evidences of divine Revelation." 



23 



tion, they practically defpife tiie eternal God *, they trample on 
his well-beloved and eternal Son, and feem determined to work 
their difrnal way to destruction, through his tears, and wounds, 
and blood This is no tragic reprefentation. It is grounded on 
the exprefs declarations of fcripture. Let every impenitent fin- 
ner think of this. At the fame time, let him think of that 
glorious, awful day, when the Savior will be revealed as the 
Judge ; and when the wicked will be ready to think even per- 
dition light, could they but avoid his flaming eye, his infupport- 
able frown. Think of that day when the kings of the earth, and 
the great men, the rich, the profperous, and the proud, fhall 
fay w to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the 
face of him who fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of 
the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come 5 and who 
fhall be able to ftand ?" 

Finally. This great doctrine of the deity of Chrifl: fpeaks a 
language of encouragement and confolation to the trembling and 
defponding foul. Are there thofe who, preft with depravity and 
guilt, can fcarce believe that the mercy of the gofpel can ever 
reach them, or that they have any concern in its invitations ? 
Let them think a moment whofe this mercy, and thefe invita- 
tions are. O unners ! look to Jefus. He is the Savior you 
want. Were he lefs than God, you might well defpair. But 
banifli the difheartening thought. He is God all-jufficient ; 
therefore he is mighty to fave. His perfon is divine \ therefore 
his atonement is infinite his blood can cleanfe from crimes 
red as crirnfon, or black as hell. He is God ; he has therefore 
infinite companion and patience to bear with creatures the moil 
guilty and provoking, and to fave them forever. He is God - 9 
and can fubdue your ftrongeft corruptions, and moft inveterate 
foes. He is God unchangeable nothing therefore fhall ever fep- 
arate thofe who truft in him, from his love Like a God, he 
pardons ; like a God, he comforts, blelTes and faves. O come ; 
iay your guilt at the foot of his crofs. Commit your precious,, 



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periling fouls to his hands Believe In the Lord Jefus Chrjft, 
and you fhall never perifh. You (hall have a friend in death. 
The almighty Savior> the companionate Shepherd, will go with 
you through that difmal vale. And having paft the terrors and 
the gloom, you fhall come forth into the light of his counte- 
nance, and adore, and celebrate, and enjoy his love forever. 
You fhall fing the fong, which angels cannot fing, to hhn who loved 
you, and ivafhed you from your fms t in his own blood. 



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